ISC PAYROLL ACCOUNTANT-3 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not only enjoys outstanding benefits and professional growth opportunities, but also an environment noted for diversity, community involvement, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits, and natural beauty.

To support our faculty, staff, and student worker community, the UW is creating an Integrated Service Center (ISC) as a multi-channel resource (website, phone help desk, and walk-in center) for HR and Payroll inquiries and transactions. The ISC is the mission-critical portal to achieve the goals of the HR/Payroll Modernization Program, the largest single administrative initiative ever undertaken by the University. The ISC will not only support the transition to a new HR/Payroll technology, but will also play a role in facilitating new business processes across campus.

We are seeking highly motivated, entrepreneurial, team-oriented individuals to launch and staff the ISC. You will help to build a world-class shared services organization, dedicated to providing an exceptional customer service experience. You will deliver seamless support services in a one-stop shop where UW employees’ inquiries are responded to with enthusiasm, efficiency, accuracy, and full legal compliance. Your commitment to collaboration and customer care will improve the way the UW works and contribute to a culture of service that ensures access and inclusivity for everyone.

The University of Washington’s Integrated Service Center has an outstanding opportunity for a Payroll Accountant to play a key role in providing unified human resources and payroll customer support to employees throughout the institution.

Primary Responsibilities

This position will be responsible for ensuring completion of assigned payroll transactions in accordance with established standards, supporting successful execution of payroll processes, and acting as the main point of contact within ISC Payroll Operations for resolution of complex issues/inquiries related to pay and time tracking. This work will entail close coordination with a combination of HCM, Benefits, and Payroll resources within the ISC to address escalated inquiries (i.e., working effectively within the framework of a multi-tiered customer inquiry and issue resolution model, including ISC Tier 1 first point of contact for questions and walk-in services, ISC Tier 2 operational transaction support and advanced domain support external to the ISC). As a member of a team focused on continuous improvement, this role will also be expected to identify process issues, escalate opportunities for improvement, and advance recommended solutions.

This position will play a critical role in delivering quality payroll processes and a high level of customer service to the organization. The Payroll Operations team will have responsibility for executing designated payroll transactional processes, including payroll inputs, retroactive payments, overpayment recovery, withholding orders, tax treaties, time tracking and report reconciliation and addressing escalated customer inquiries.

• Provide extensive insight and direction related to Payroll transactional processes, including:

o Tax compliance

o Managing inquiries from the IRS

o Bank reconciliations

o System reconciliations

o General Ledgers

o Withholding Orders (i.e., involuntary wage assignments – IRS Levies, Child Support, Education Loans, etc.)

o Tax Filing/reporting (IRS payments, state taxes, preparing all tax forms such as W2 forms)

o Glacier Tax Treaty Processes

• Ensure completion of assigned payroll transactions in accordance with established standards.

• Support development of internal controls and management reports based on state and federal tax regulations.

• Identify process improvement opportunities to deliver enhanced customer services to the organization.

• Support timely resolution of complex issues/inquiries.

• Coordinate with other ISC resources to address escalated inquiries as required.

• Contribute to an outstanding customer-service environment, including strong collaboration with other team members and subject matter experts external to the ISC as required.

• Utilize ServiceNow to facilitate management of inquiries/issues in accordance with established protocols.

• Support periodic Workday update processes, including payroll testing activities.

• Support ISC knowledge management processes, including identification and verification of additions/changes to the working repository of knowledge content.

• Support ISC training activities, including development and verification of relevant content.

• Perform related duties as required.

Requirements:

A Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, business administration, computer science, economics, or closely related field that includes thirty quarter hours or twenty semester hours of college-level accounting courses AND three years of experience working in a payroll related role, including working knowledge of key payroll transactional processes, accounting standards and taxation requirements. Two years of working experience processing transactions in the payroll domain OR equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

Additional Requirements:

• Proficiency in completing large volumes of Payroll transactions in a diverse organization

• Ability to ensure a high level of accuracy

• Working knowledge of payroll accounting standards and principles

• Working knowledge of federal/state regulations and laws as they relate to payroll, including tax withholdings, tax treaties, external reporting requirements, etc.

• Working knowledge of payroll transactional processes, including payroll calculations, payroll inputs, retroactive payments, overpayment recovery, withholding orders, tax treaties, time tracking and report reconciliation

• Experience providing excellent customer service to a wide range of customers

• Experience providing service to a diverse group of customers; ability to exhibit a high degree of respect for diversity in customer base

• Experience resolving complex inquiries

• Ability to communicate clearly, in writing and verbally to a broad, diverse audience

• Ability to quickly learn new software systems

Conditions of Employment

Appointment to this position is contingent upon obtaining satisfactory results from a criminal background check.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Work Authorization, Criminal Conviction History, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your “My Jobs” page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

The University of Washington is a leader in environmental stewardship & sustainability , and committed to becoming climate neutral.

The University of Washington is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.
To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 / 206-543-6452 (tty) or dso@uw.edu .